The 2019 Virginia Cavaliers football team represented the University of Virginia during the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cavaliers were led by fourth-year head coach Bronco Mendenhall and played their home games at Scott Stadium. The team competed as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Quick Facts Virginia Cavaliers football, ACC Coastal Division champion ...

2019 Virginia Cavaliers football
ACC Coastal Division champion
ACC Championship Game, L 17–62 vs. Clemson
Orange Bowl, L 28–36 vs. Florida
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Division	Coastal Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 25
Record	9–5 (6–2 ACC)
Head coach	Bronco Mendenhall (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Robert Anae (4th season)
Defensive coordinator	Nick Howell (4th season)
Co-defensive coordinator	Kelly Poppinga (2nd as co-DC; 4th overall season)
Home stadium	Scott Stadium
Uniform
Seasons ← 2018 2020 →

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Coming off an 8–5 season in 2018, Virginia was considered the favorite to win the Coastal Division.^[1] The Cavaliers began the season with four straight victories, but then lost three games in a four-game stretch to Notre Dame, Miami, and Louisville. The team rebounded with four straight victories to close out the regular season, including a win over rival and 24th-ranked Virginia Tech to secure Virginia's place in the ACC Championship Game. It was Virginia's first win over Virginia Tech since 2003, and it was the school's first appearance in the conference title game, concluding a seven-year stretch in which all seven members of the Coastal Division won the division. In the Championship Game, Virginia lost to Clemson, 62–17. The team received an invitation to the Orange Bowl to play Florida, where they lost 36–28, to end the season with a 9–5 record.

Virginia was led on offense by quarterback Bryce Perkins, who finished with 3,530 passing yards and 22 touchdowns, and was named second-team all-conference. Perkins also led the team in rushing, finishing with 769 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground. Wide receiver and return specialist Joe Reed was named first-team all-conference as an all-purpose back. On defense, the team's leading tackler and sacks leader was linebacker Zane Zandier.

• In September, the Cavaliers defeated the Seminoles for the Jefferson-Eppes Trophy.
• In early November, the Cavaliers defeated the Tar Heels in the South's Oldest Rivalry.
• In late November, the Cavaliers defeated the Hokies for the Commonwealth Cup.

Bronco Mendenhall became the first coach to bring both trophies to Charlottesville at the same time. The Jefferson-Eppes Trophy may remain in Cavalier hands until at least 2025, as FSU does not appear on the ACC schedules for Virginia through 2024.

As projected by the pre-season media, Virginia won the Coastal division for the first time despite an early season-ending injury to the team's highest NFL prospect, Bryce Hall, in the game against Miami.

More information Date, Time ...

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	7:30 p.m.	at Pittsburgh		Heinz Field Pittsburgh, PA	ACCN	W 30–14	47,144
September 6	8:00 p.m.	William & Mary*		Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	ACCN	W 52–17	45,250
September 14	7:30 p.m.	Florida State	No. 25	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA (Jefferson-Eppes Trophy)	ACCN	W 31–24	57,826
September 21	7:00 p.m.	Old Dominion*	No. 21	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	ESPN2	W 28–17	44,573
September 28	3:30 p.m.	at No. 10 Notre Dame*	No. 18	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN	NBC	L 20–35	77,622
October 11	8:00 p.m.	at Miami (FL)	No. 20	Hard Rock Stadium Miami Gardens, FL	ESPN	L 9–17	54,538
October 19	3:30 p.m.	Duke		Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	ACCN	W 48–14	52,847
October 26	3:30 p.m.	at Louisville		Cardinal Stadium Louisville, KY	ACCN	L 21–28	48,689
November 2	7:30 p.m.	at North Carolina		Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC (South's Oldest Rivalry)	ACCN	W 38–31	50,500
November 9	12:30 p.m.	Georgia Tech		Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	ACCRSN	W 33–28	44,596
November 23	12:00 p.m.	Liberty*		Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	ACCRSN	W 55–27	37,329
November 29	12:00 p.m.	No. 24 Virginia Tech		Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA (Commonwealth Cup)	ABC	W 39–30	52,619
December 7	7:30 p.m.	vs. No. 3 Clemson	No. 23	Bank of America Stadium Charlotte, NC (ACC Championship Game)	ABC	L 17–62	66,810
December 30	8:00 p.m.	vs. No. 9 Florida*	No. 24	Hard Rock Stadium Miami Gardens, FL (Orange Bowl)	ESPN	L 28–36	65,157
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after November 5 released prior to game All times are in Eastern time

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